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It stings, pinches, sometimes spreading to the arms and legs: almost every second Swiss citizen complains of back pain. 42 percent suffer from it regularly or chronically, making it the most common cause of pain in the country.
But not all Swiss backs hurt the same way. People from the Jurassic arc, the Lake Geneva region and the Alps suffer particularly often. Backs in central Switzerland are the least prone to pain. This is demonstrated by the latest results from Sanitas Health Forecast 2023, the national study available to Blick.
Women are more often on the cross
“Our backs are like the Achilles heel of the entire nation,” writes Claudia Witt (53). She is one of the study authors and Professor of Complementary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Zurich. “We sit a lot, don’t move enough, and we feel stressed,” she explains.
If the pain bothers you for more than three months, it is called chronic pain. Up to 40 percent of the population has already experienced it. According to Rheumaliga Schweiz, chronic pain not only greatly restricts quality of life, it costs the Swiss economy about 10 billion francs a year.
According to the University Hospital Zurich, about 1.5 million people in Switzerland are affected by pain. 39 percent have pain all the time, 35 percent every day, 26 percent several times a week. For most of those affected, the problems are not new: they have been battling chronic pain for an average of 7.7 years.
Muscle pain (35 percent) ranks second after back pain, followed by headache with 32 percent. If any part of the body aches, 53 percent of the population assumes that they are overextending themselves. 34 percent believe it is due to psychological problems, almost a quarter believe they acted carelessly.
Eastern Switzerland more resilient
Tell me where you live and I’ll tell you where it hurts: Depending on the region, pain in Swiss people varies greatly. This is demonstrated by the study’s pain atlas. For example, high mountain regions complain of headaches more often than plains.
In Switzerland, the stronghold of migraine, the temples strike particularly hard: in the Bernese agglomeration 22 percent suffer severe headaches, at least periodically. The Swiss average is 15 percent. Eastern Switzerland is the most migraine-resistant region: 67 percent of those surveyed there said they had never suffered from migraine.
Women are much more likely to get headaches. Thirty-eight percent suffer from it periodically or continuously, compared to only 26 percent in men. Unlike back pain, it affects young people more often, they are affected four times more often.
When it comes to mental pain, the canton of Zurich takes the lead: more than a quarter reported experiencing chronic or periodic mental pain. Ticino was the most carefree: 16 percent experience mental pain from time to time.
A quarter of men do nothing
To prevent pain, half of Swiss people do sports, 21 percent avoid certain foods, and 9 percent rely on meditative exercises. A quarter of men do nothing to prevent pain.
If it still hurts, 50 percent of the population uses non-opioid pain relievers. 33 percent can get a massage, 31 percent go to the doctor after a few days. About a quarter swear by home remedies.
In the back, head or joints: “If a pain reoccurs, it is first and foremost an acute sensation,” Witt writes. A warning signal from the body, for example, when an injury has occurred. But: “The pain usually goes away if we treat the trigger properly.”
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
